Shagamu

Shagamu, town, Ogun state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies along the Ibu River and the Eruwuru Stream, between Lagos and Ibadan. Founded in the mid-19th century by members of the Remo branch of the Yoruba people, it soon became a major market centre of the Remo (Ijebu-Remo) kingdom. Following the British destruction of the Ijebu trade monopoly in 1892 and their later decision to build the railway from Lagos through Abeokuta, 30 miles (48 km) northwest, Shagamu declined in importance. It was not until the completion of the Lagos-Shagamu-Ibadan road in 1953 and the opening of a new road to Benin City in 1964 that the town regained some of its old significance as a trade centre.

Shagamu is Nigeria’s largest collecting point for kola nuts. Although cocoa, rubber, and palm oil and kernels are also cultivated in the vicinity for export, local trade is primarily in yams, cassava (manioc), rice, corn (maize), palm produce, oranges, and onions. Cotton weaving and dyeing (with locally grown indigo) are traditional industries, but Shagamu has become best known in recent years for its thorn carvings of Nigerian scenes. A carpet industry and a cement factory (opened in 1978) form the modern sector of the economy.

Next to one of the markets are the palace and administrative buildings of the present Yoruba oba (king). Shagamu is also served by a central mosque, Anglican and Methodist churches, public and religious teacher-training colleges, and a hospital. Pop. (2006) local government area, 253,412.